Perception
by Flow371
Summary: AU. The BAU is reluctant to call in a suspected criminal to help out on their latest case, but the battered genius does not turn out to be what they expected.


**A/N: OK, so I'm assuming everyone reading this already knows all the characters so I'm not going to go into too much detail explaining them...also this is AU. I realize its extremely farfetched and would never actually happen, but just go with it. Pretty short first chapter just to see if this is worth continuing! **

**Chapter 1**

Agent Aaron Hotchner stared at his computer screen, brow furrowed in thought. Two weeks. They had been on their latest case for two weeks with zero leads, and already another body matching the pattern had been found. They couldn't find a link between the victims. The killer seemed not to care about age, race, or gender, making his next move (assuming the killer was, in fact, a he) extremely hard to predict. Hotch couldn't remember a time when the team had felt so hopeless. Which brought him to his current situation.

_Crime Prevention Detention Center_, the top of the webpage read. Hotch didn't know everything there was to know about the program, but he knew enough. Years ago, the rate of violent crime was at an all time high and people demanded that something be done about it. Punishment on criminals cracked down. They were stripped of almost all their rights, and taken to detention centers where no one was entirely certain what happened. This, however, did not deter any would be offenders, and crime continued to thrive.

Too many criminals and not enough law enforcement made daily life dangerous for the average person. Not to mention the court system was overcrowded and took far too long to put anyone behind bars. Thus the preventative program was launched, and all of a sudden innocent until proven guilty became just the opposite.

At risk kids were identified-those from abusive homes, single parent households, and low income families. Teachers picked out problem children at school. Even parents, if so inclined, brought in their own children if they were having behavioral problems. An extensive psychological profile was created from countless tests and observations of the kids. In this way, future criminals were identified and incarcerated. Originally there was shock, outrage, and cries of social injustice. Then, something unexpected happened. It worked.

Years down the road, violent crime rates began to drop dramatically. There were fewer rapes, murders, and assaults then ever before, and it was all accredited to the prevention program.

These days, the program was publicly accepted and even encouraged. The profile created of the would-be offenders was extensive, and people doubted any innocents slipped through the cracks.

Hotch let his fingers tap on the desk, a nervous titch he hardly ever allowed himself. Eyes skimming over the website for the tenth time, he knew his mind was made up. The phone sat only inches from his fingers and without allowing himself to think about it he snatched it from its cradle and punched in the numbers on the screen.

"This is Agent Hotchner with the BAU. I'd like to put in a request."

oOo

"You _what!"_ The outraged voice of Morgan rose above the rest. "Are you kidding me, Hotch?"

"We don't have any other options." Hotch stood so he could see Morgan eye to eye.

"I can't believe this," Morgan said as he paced the room. "I can't believe you did that without consulting us."

"You have any better ideas?"

"Well yeah, how about we solve the case because it's our job, and leave the lunatics out of it. Don't you know why they keep them locked up in the first place?"

Hotch slammed the folder he was holding onto the desk and flipped it open, sliding it across the table so Morgan could see. "This one's different. He's not violent, or deranged. He's a genius."

"Oh, because that's _so _much better. You know the statistics as well as I do. Don't tell me you actually think this is a good idea."

Hotch stood to his full height and pointed one finger. "What I think, is that innocent people are dying because we can't solve this case. I think we're out of options and don't have any clue what we're doing anymore. And I think we should do whatever we can to not allow that to happen."

The room fell silent. Morgan dropped into a chair and leaned back, crossing his arms across his chest. The other occupants of the room who up to this point had been quiet began to stir.

"Morgan," JJ began, "Hotch is right. I don't see why we shouldn't at least give this a chance."

"Yeah? I'll tell you why. Because people like _him_," Morgan gestured in the general direction of the folder on the table, "do bad things. They hurt people. They're the people we're trying to catch." The dark man had a faraway look in his eye, and the rest of the team exchanged looks before continuing the confrontation.

Hotch picked up again, this time in a gentler tone. "I understand that. And that's why we're going to take all the necessary precautions. There won't be any danger in bringing him here."

Morgan let out a long breath. "Fine. But I don't have to be happy about it."

"No one's asking you to be."

"Then its settled."

"Alright," Hotch ran a hand over his eyes as if exhausted. "They're bringing him in first thing tomorrow morning. Apparently he's worked with law enforcement before so he should have a little of an idea of what's going on. We'll just let him look over everything and see if he picks up on anything we've missed."

oOo

Miles away, Spencer Reid stood shivering against a cold cement wall, hands shackled behind his back.

"What is this kid, stupid? He hear a word I said?"

The boy kept his eyes carefully trained on the ground. He took a breathe to respond but never got the chance as a booted foot connected with his abdomen. Groaning, he bent forward at the middle.

"He heard you. Doesn't like to talk, this one," another voice said.

Spencer righted himself and leaned his head back against the wall still avoiding any sort of eye contact. His clothes were torn and did little to protect him from the chill of the room.

"Well he better start talking as soon as we get to the BAU. They didn't call this kid in to come twiddle his thumbs."

"Yeah, yeah. He'll talk. Always does with a little bit of persuasion."

Another kick and the two men were walking away, chuckling between themselves. Spencer allowed himself to sink to the floor and curl his legs beneath him. Great. He had been called out on another case, and with the FBI no less. Spencer tried not to shiver at the thought.

He couldn't help but think this was going to end badly. In the past, punishments for being unable to help were severe, and Spencer could only imagine that the FBI agents would be much more harsh than the local police officers he usually dealt with. Seeing nothing else to do, Spencer closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift into an uneasy sleep.


End file.
